Washing machine appliances generally include a drum rotatably mounted within a tub of a cabinet. The drum defines a wash chamber for receiving articles for washing. During operation of washing machine appliances, wash fluid is directed into the tub and onto articles within the wash chamber of the drum. The motor can rotate the drum at various speeds to agitate articles within the wash chamber in wash fluid, to wring wash fluid from articles within the wash chamber, etc.
In particular, after the articles of clothing have been washed, the washing machine can drain the wash fluid and then spin the drum at a high speed in order to relieve the articles of clothing of remaining moisture and fluid. This process is generally known as a spin cycle or a spin out process.
In certain circumstances, prior to a spin cycle, the load in the washing machine can become imbalanced. In particular, the articles of clothing can become disproportionately distributed to a single location and form an out of balance mass. For example, the articles of clothing can adhere together at a single location.
Such out of balance mass can cause a number of problems if it remains uncorrected and present during the spin cycle. In particular, the imbalanced mass can alter the center of mass for the drum and load as a whole so that the center of mass is no longer aligned with a shaft center of the washing machine. Rotating the drum at high speeds, for example during a spin cycle, in such condition can cause undesirable vibration, noise, or other damage to system components, including damage caused by the drum becoming so far misaligned that is strikes the washing machine cabinet.
One potential solution to the problem of out of balance loads can be to measure load size, load imbalance, or other operational parameters prior to performing the spin out process. If such measurements indicate a particularly large load imbalance, then the spin out process can be delayed while the load is rebalanced.
As an example, a washing machine according to the present disclosure can be configured to measure the load size or other operational parameters while the washing machine motor is operated so as to dwell at a relatively low speed, such as, for example, 100 revolutions per minute. However, similar to the spin out process, this measurement process also suffers from the potential occurrence of cabinet strike events.
Therefore, systems and methods for predicting and preventing a cabinet strike event in a washing machine appliance are desirable. In particular, systems and methods for predicting whether cabinet strike events will occur at relatively low dwelling speeds associated with a measurement process are desirable.